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How India can become a world leader in solar power?

India is on its way to improve its industrial and economic health through structural reforms. The country has decided to phase out fossil-based energy generation and adopt green energy. This has been instrumental in laying a path to transition towards sustainable energy. The growing need of energy perfectly aligns with the country’s green energy transition initiatives, to satisfy future energy demands while reducing carbon footprints and burden on the country’s foreign currency reserves.

India’s per capita energy consumption currently stands close to one-third of the world average. India is running renewable energy initiatives in a big way and has emerged as the second most attractive market for renewable energy equipment in the world. With the headquarters of International Solar Alliance, India is all set to become a global leader in solar energy.

Solar and wind were once considered costly source of power, but are now much cheaper than the conventional form of energy. India has already achieved 23 GW of solar installations with another 40 GW of solar power being at different stages of bidding and installation. The transition of the energy landscape in India is inevitable with the share of renewable energy going up rapidly. India set ambitious targets for itself to achieve 100 GW of solar power by 2022 and is set to prove that with honest efforts and true intent, no target is difficult to achieve.

Growth in green energy transition

In recent years, growth of solar energy in emerging markets had been phenomenal. India has already overtaken the US and has become the second largest solar power market in the world (in terms of solar power installations). The country currently stands with ~25 GW of grid-connected solar power capacity as compared to 9 GW in 2015. Large scale solar installations in India account for 87 percent solar capacity while rooftop sector is all set to pick up. Last year, solar accounted for nearly 53 percent of new energy capacity additions in the country.

In addition to India, most of the developing countries including southeastern Asian countries are aggressively promoting renewable energy. The growth trajectory is expected to rise exponentially in the years to come.